


The Choices We Make

by flkeysgal98



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Post X-Men: First Class, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Post-X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-men Inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 19:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14063415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flkeysgal98/pseuds/flkeysgal98
Summary: We all make choices in our lives. The choices we make will define who we become. Kara Seacoal was a mutant who faced life changing choices, whether to stay with Charles and the X-Men, or live on the run.





	The Choices We Make

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - So this story has been in my mind for a while, so I decided to just start writing it and see where it goes. This story is sort of an AU because I’m mixing the timelines to some degree....

Countless choices define who we are, establish our future, and decide the fate of others. Sometimes, the choices we make are not in our best interest. Others will mold us into the person we will be.

Kara Seacoal was a mutant by birth, a side show novelty by force and had no choices in anything other than what she read or dreamed about. She was thirty-three, part of the circus since she was eight; a telepath with telekinetic abilities and had lived alone for so long she couldn’t begin to fathom any other life for herself. Her parents became aware of her powers when she was seven and wanted to wash their hands of her. Kara’s heart broke, knowing that she wasn’t loved or wanted. She was going to run away, but before she could, her parents sold her to a man who owned a traveling show.

She worked everyday, from sunrise to sunset until she would drop from pure exhaustion. The only time she got to herself was at night after the shows. This particular night was rare for her. There were no more shows scheduled for the evening, so she was able to pull out her well worn novel, kick back and just read in peace. She hated the circus and what it had done to her life. It never gave her the love or friendship she craved.

She had tried to escape once, telekinetically opening the lock to her trailer. But that had earned her a horrible punishment and a reward of electricity wound around her home and turned on as soon as she was locked in for the night.

They were determined to keep her since she was the main source of income for the show. Kara never saw a dime of the earnings, her captors chosing to treat her like a slave rather than a main show attraction. Oh they kept her clothed and fed and made sure she had things to do, but they never gave her money lest she hide it and escape with it. She had come to be resigned that she would never leave the traveling show.

Kara was in the middle of her novel, her mind in the beautiful English countryside with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, when she became aware of a strange noises outside. She stood and laid her book down, but before she could even look out the window, the power went out. She ran to the window, seeing an eerie orange glow around the main tent. It was then she realized the green glow of electricity that was ever present was gone from the outside of the trailer too.

The implications of what was happening dawned on her and she moved as quickly as possible. Kara kept a backpack packed with some toiletries and some clothes, just in case she ever had the chance to leave. As she left her room, she grabbed her few books she owned and her journal. She was done in less than two minutes. Kara cautiously unbolted the lock telekinetically, silently opening the door.

Kara stepped outside, seeing the flames engulfing more than the main tent now. No one was near her side of the performers trailers, so she took her chance and fled, unsure of where to go or who to turn to. She had lived at the circus for so long, no one from her past caring where she was or even if she was alive. Her family was long gone, her friends moved on after she was sold as a child.

She started running, running as fast as she could and wanting to get as far away as she could from the life she had been forced to live. She stopped briefly, turning and glancing at the circus in the distance, a faint orange glow still visible. Kara wheeled around and began running again, hoping that the fire was enough of a distraction to give her a fighting chance.

About two hours later she found a small secluded area, off the beaten path some, but looked ideal to hide for a time. Kara knew she needed to get some rest so she could keep moving the next day. A little spot behind some bushes looked the most promising, offering enough protection away from prying eyes. She laid her pack down, intending to use it as a pillow. She took one more look around before she settled down, closing her eyes. It wasn’t long before Kara fell into a blissful state of unconsciousness.

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Kara had been walking for hours, starting at sunup, wanting to put mileage between her and the doomed circus she left behind. She kept her head down and walked along the side of the road, trying to stay away from the main thoroughfare and stay as inconspicuous as she could.

She was lost in thought, wondering if she could ever feel loved or be at home without looking over shoulder when she became aware of a vehicle speeding behind her. She stepped off the road, intent on not getting hit when she heard the acceleration of the engine.

Kara turned for the briefest of seconds, seeing the sedan heading straight for her, the window down and a handgun pointed at her. She turned back and took off running as fast as she could. _They found me! How the hell did they find me?_ she thought, terrified that somehow they had.

Something buzzed past her ear, a bullet embedding in the tree to her right. She picked up her pace, racing for the driveway that appeared just ahead of her.

_God I hope someone is home! I’ll be a sitting duck if I stay out here much longer!_

Kara almost tripped when she heard a soft, masculine voice with a British accent in her mind say, _You’re heading the right way love. Help is on the way._ She could feel him trying to probe slightly into her mind, but she shut him out before he could get too deep. She had to concentrate on getting to safety and not on the fact that a telepath was trying to get into her head and was close enough to do so.

The telepath was enough of a distraction to slow her down slightly. Kara was almost to the gate when a bullet found its mark in her left leg, taking her down. She managed to get back up on her feet when the sedan slammed into her, sending her flying. Kara landed about ten feet past the driveway she had been heading for. The force of the impact had her body sliding on the pavement, giving her road rash in an instant as she skidded to a stop.

She feebly tried to move off the pavement, but all she succeeded in doing was causing the pain to ramp up, almost blinding her. Her breathing was ragged, her legs on fire, her head feeling like it was in a vise and her stomach and chest feeling like she had gone ten rounds with in a boxing ring.

 _I’m screwed_ , Kara thought, the pain and inability to take in a deep breath was becoming too much for her badly damaged body. She knew she was going to lose consciousness but was desperately holding on, hoping the help the voice in her head promised was on its way.

She watched the car that had been chasing her come to a screeching halt a mere feet from her face. She shut her eyes, not wanting to see the man who had made her life a living hell for the past 25 years again so soon.

“Well, well, well. So you thought you could run away and leave us high and dry huh? After all these years of taking care of you and you ran at the first chance you got.”

She felt the first blow to her stomach, the kick instantly curling Kara into a ball. The second was more brutal than the first, rolling her over to her back as the third clocked her in the head. She thought for sure she was going to pass out from the blows as she screamed in agony.

He walked around her writhing body, clicking the safety on and off of the gun. Suddenly, he was standing next to her, a wicked grin on his face.

“And now, you die.”

Kara heard the gun click as he prepared to fire, aiming for the space between her eyes. _Just do it already asshole! Put me out of my misery!_ she thought despairingly, praying the shot would be painless enough. She squeezed her eyes shut again, not wanting the last thing she saw to be his ugly face.

 _You’re not going to die, my dear_ , the voice from earlier replied in her mind as a hand touched her arm gently.

Kara’s eyes flew open in surprise as she heard a thud and the clatter of the gun falling to the ground. A young man was kneeling next to her head and another standing near her previous captors. She was taken aback when she realized the men who had been chasing her were frozen solid. She looked up to the young man next to her, taken aback that he was covered in some kind of silver armor from head to toe. She hoped hoped to god this was the help that had been promised.

Kara tried to push up from the pavement, but collapsed immediately, tears rolling down her face as she realized she was couldn’t take in a deep breath, her whole body now screaming in agony.

 _Hang on love. The boys are going to help you_.

God she wished he would stay out of her head, but her barriers weren’t holding as strong as they were moments before.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. We’re here to help you.” Kara choked back a sob as glanced up again to see the young man who had moments before been covered in armor now in human form. He had caring chestnut eyes that were filled with worry, his hand brushing back a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “I’m Peter and my icy friend over there is Bobby. Looks like the Professor got us out here just in time.”

“I..I’m..K..Kara,” she replied, her voice shaking, wondering who “the Professor” was. She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness and knew she had to trust that these were “the boys” the voice told her would be her rescuers. She also knew she had to get some mental barriers up, just in case her mind blew them apart when the inevitable happened.

“Hi Kara. I hate that we have to meet like this. Bobby and I need to get you to safety. It’s not ideal, but I’m going to pick you up as carefully as I can and we’re going to get you the medical attention you need. Is that ok?”

She nodded, sensing that she was in good hands. Kara gritted her teeth as Peter carefully placed an arm under her knees and one behind her back, lifting her from the ground. The upward movement alone shifted the broken bones she had incurred, inducing a blood curdling scream to be torn from her throat.

She didn’t have time to think or finish her barriers as her vision dimmed, graying to a pinpoint as a rushing noise filled her ears. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she passed out in Peter’s arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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